tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28073995281555474962018-03-19T07:30:23.089+00:00www.MethodistPreacher.comDavidnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-11526436949509752522018-03-19T07:30:00.001+00:002018-03-19T07:30:23.184+00:00Counting the Catastrophe in Iraq<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fKsKeoRx3sg" width="480"></iframe>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-57353950721722456672012-09-15T15:07:00.002+01:002012-09-15T18:03:20.545+01:00The Last Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As of today I am formally closing the Methodist Preacher blog and removing nearly five years of posts to the archives.<br /><br />Regular readers will know that I suspended posting in February. At that point it was mainly for professional reasons because I felt that my independent blog could potentially compromise a new assignment.<br /><br />Other opportunities have now opened up that will require my energies to be spent elsewhere.<br /><br />Over the last few months&nbsp; I have in any case&nbsp; re-evaluated my relationship with the Methodist Church.<br /><br />My main reason for being in the Methodist Church was because nearly three decades ago I was accepted at - what I subsequently found - was one of the most unusual and open minded churches in British Methodism. Sadly time moved on, that church changed, and I became part of a handful of people that maintained it as a place of Christian worship against seemingly overwhelming odds. In the last few years I have done much of the "heavy lifting", replacing the roof, renovating the building, and restructuring the finances.<br /><br />This work has been successfully completed and I now feel ready to stand aside to encourage a new leadership to emerge.<br /><br />Meanwhile I find it increasingly difficult to prepare for circuit preaching due to other commitments. By this time next year I do not expect to be on the circuit plan and so therefore feel the blog title "Methodist Preacher" would be increasingly misleading.<br /><br />I am immensely proud of what this blog has achieved. It opened up discussion in British Methodism on a range of topics that previously would never have been aired. Much of the discussions that were pioneered on Methodist Preacher have now moved to the the UK Methodists page on Facebook. Social media, of which this blog was a pioneer, has had a profoundly positive impact on the Connexion.<br /><br />One final point about this blog's achievements:<br /><br />I have taken up and documented some difficult subjects that have led to robust discussions - British Methodism's compromised relationship with the gambling industry and the role of a Methodist Minister in the Holocaust come to mind. I neither retract those posts nor apologise to anyone for raising these and other issues, hard as this might prove for some individuals.<br /><br />To those who have read the blog over the last five years: thank you and goodbye. God bless you. </div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-26872132566148201792011-10-05T08:00:00.003+01:002013-08-25T16:18:02.837+01:00They shall not pass: the legacy of Cable Street<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ozndljflUgU" width="420"></iframe> <br /><br />History says that World War 2 started on Sunday 3 September 1939. The truth is that the battle against fascism had started several years before as working class people stood up for dignity and solidarity.<br /><br />This week we commemorate the 75th anniversary of&nbsp; the "Battle of Cable Street". This broke out when the fascists tried to march through an area of Stepney in East London heavily populated by Jewish and Irish immigrants. The working class movement of London gathered under the Republican slogan from the Spanish Civil War <i>No pasaran</i> – “They shall not pass”. And they didn't.<br /><br />In the 1960s I went with some veterans from that famous day and saw some of the sites. Cable Street by then was already changing and the area has changed more since as the City gradually encroaches on what is now valuable real estate.<br /><br />However, fascism with the ugly twin sisters of anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia still lurks awaiting its chance to find a scapegoat for the continual crisis that is capitalism. We need to remember that when soft capitalism fails, such as the current coalition government, there is a mailed fist ready to hit the working class and defend the rich and powerful. They will find a scapegoat and a solution that suits them.<br /><br />Good articles in today's <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/editors-picks/2011/10/04/75th-anniversary-of-battle-of-cable-street-why-we-must-never-forget-115875-23465083/?google_editors_picks=true">Daily Mirror</a>, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15171772">BBC website</a> and a special perspective from the <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/10/they-shall-not-pass-lagacy-of-cable.html">Community Security Trust.</a><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-17079195400262234302011-09-22T00:01:00.007+01:002013-08-25T16:20:00.409+01:00Confessional politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">When I served as a Member of the European Parliament&nbsp; I occasionally asked myself whether I was&nbsp; "Christian politician" or a "Christian in politics"? The reason I asked that is because when you are a Christian politician many people are very keen to tell you what you "ought" to do and believe.<br /><br />This crossed my mind as I read the extraordinary and unpleasant blog post of Conservative MP <a href="http://blog.dorries.org/id-1975-2011_9_Tim_Farron_outed.aspx">Nadine Dorries </a>about Liberal Democrat MP <a href="http://timfarron.co.uk/en/page/biography">Tim Farron</a>.<br /><br />Nadine is colourful and tenacious. Her <a href="http://blog.dorries.org/About.aspx">own words</a> explain why. Last month she tried to amend the law on abortion. Her amendment will best be remembered for David Cameron's<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/wintour-and-watt/2011/sep/07/abortion-davidcameron"> tasteless and sexist joke </a>at her expense.&nbsp; <br /><br />But her references to Tim Farron beggars belief. He decided not to support her amendment. Nadine Dorries saw this as part of a career driven personality problem. She seems to assume that MPs of faith should have supported her amendments on the basis of faith.<br /><br />She says: <span style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">I'm sorry to have to do this to Tim, but he is not being entirely truthful, either to himself or the faith he professes to have......Tim disappeared into the night......<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> I spoke to Tim because he’s a Christian and a member of Christians in Parliament. I&nbsp;asked for his support.......We do conviction politics a little more seriously over on our side of the House......Tim Farron, puts being President/ potential leader of the Lib Dems before his faith.......his faith may simply be a vehicle of convenience.</span></b><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">.....Some with a stronger faith than Tim may say he’s been blinded by ambition and sold his soul to the devil."</span></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">&nbsp;</span></b><br /></span></span><br />Although I write a public blog and preach I'm aware that my faith is an intensely personal thing. In politics it isn't always easy to reconcile what you believe with what is possible. It is often impossible to reconcile what others believe you should do as a Christian with what you actually have to do.<br /><br />Once certain Christians knew I was both an MEP and a Christian I found a queue a mile long wanting to tell me how I should vote. Some were welcome, the Evangelical Alliance for example, were excellent in their support and briefings.<br /><br />Others seemed to assume they had the right to tell me what I should think about abortion, homosexuality, Europe as "the beast", and countless other subjects. Few actually engaged in discussion, which actually is helpful. It always seemed to be "You are a Christian, you should do this: ......." And if I didn't do "this" but decided to support "that"....well, I clearly wasn't a Christian. I do know that on the morning I lost my seat there literally was a cheer in the office of one "Christian" organisation.<br /><br />So I actually find Nadine's comments quite offensive. If she has a problem with a fellow Christian MP she should at least have begun&nbsp; with a Matthew 18 meeting. If she believes that all members of the "Christians in Parliament" group should have voted in a particular way, she should then take it up with them. When I chaired the equivalent body in the European Parliament none of us would have dreamed of telling each other how to vote.<br /><br />To publish such an awful post under the heading "Tim Farron - outed", which in itself has inappropriate connotations is clearly wrong. And just what are non-believers to make of this spat? "See how they love one another" ? </div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-70574695300673740192011-09-14T00:01:00.008+01:002013-08-25T16:21:02.664+01:00Vintage Red by John Kotz: book review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HJ-ssoYMcvk/Tm-SlsfH-pI/AAAAAAAACYg/AwkayooLkVQ/s1600/Vintage+red.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HJ-ssoYMcvk/Tm-SlsfH-pI/AAAAAAAACYg/AwkayooLkVQ/s200/Vintage+red.jpeg" height="200" width="146" /></a></div>When I heard that John had published his memoirs I immediately bought a copy. I expected lots of nostalgia from my Hackney childhood and my&nbsp; first faltering steps into politics. I enjoyed reading about my adopted Labour Party family but was thrilled to find that one member of my real family even had a cameo part, more about that later.<br /><br />John provides lots of nostalgia for me personally, but some magnificent and important lessons for the wider Labour and progressive movement.<br /><br />John's story starts in the overcrowded and inadequate housing of 1930s Hackney, then the centre of one of the biggest Jewish communities in the world. He recalls overhearing the conversations around the kitchen table of the persecution of Jews in Germany and the Spanish Civil War. For him that decade culminated in his evacuation from London.<br /><br />He returned in time for VE Day and the momentous 1945 General Election. His description of the Labour and trades union movement is mouth watering to modern day activists. Youth clubs, friendly societies, the co-op, trades unions and political activity worked together to bind and build a community with active, articulate and engaged&nbsp; young citizens. These young people worked alongside those who had been present at the birth of the Labour Party and they wanted to continue building a democratic socialist society.<br /><br />This they did, as far as they were able, in Hackney, a rather despised, unfashionable working class borough in east London. They became active in the Labour League of Youth and then became borough councillors. People like Martin Ottolangui, Eddie Millen, Wally Wayman, Bob Masters, Lou and Sally Sherman, Stanley Davis to name but a few, and of course John Kotz himself, were giants. These were in the days when councillors were unpaid and many paid a price in terms of employment and promotion for their political activities.<br /><br />The Labour Party of 1950s Hackney set about repairing the war damage and providing affordable rentable accommodation for all. They expanded facilities such as libraries and&nbsp; public baths. They valued cultural activities that children and young people could learn and enjoy. John is rightly proud of the directly provided meals-on-wheels service that became a template for other progressive boroughs. It included Kosher meals for the elderly Jewish population, so Hackney&nbsp; was practicing diversity long before it entered the political mainstream.<br /><br />John's story is a case study in how to use local councils to build municipal socialism. John also tells at first hand of the bitter industrial disputes which erupted in London and the attempt by Oswald Mosley to relaunch his racist policies, thwarted by a united and decisive Labour movement.<br /><br />But John is honest about the things which disappointed him. As leader of Hackney Council at the end of the national local government dispute of 1979 he was shocked to find that local unions remained on strike because they expected Hackney to settle above the national agreement. He clearly felt betrayed as Hackney had been in the forefront of those authorities arguing for a better national settlement and thereby supported the strike.<br /><br />Then there was the ultra-lefts of the 1980s. Many came from middle class backgrounds and had only recently arrived in Hackney. Most had little experience of running local government in working class areas. Some went on to become hard right Blairites. They almost run the borough into bankruptcy with the collapse of the very services that had been built by a previous generation of Labour councillors.<br /><br />John charts the embrace of Tory policies during the Blair years and shows just how far Labour now has to go to win electorally and regain the trust of our people. His final chapter is entitled "Still an optimist". At the age of 80 he says "I still have faith that ordinary people when faced with the problems of capitalist economics, world poverty, wars and the need to deal with the problems of climate change, will seek a better way for everyone to live a fruitful and peaceful life"<br /><br />But I must mention the one paragraph featuring a member of my family. In 1968 there was an earthquake in Hackney when the Tories briefly&nbsp; took control of the council. Let John take up the story:<br /><br />"When Labour was in control of Hackney, we used to fly the red flag on May Day&nbsp; to celebrate International Workers Day. When the Tories won control, one of the first resolutions they passed was to destroy the council's red flag. The Tories searched every room, desk, and cupboard in the town hall for the flag, but never found it. In the subsequent council election of 1971, we won back every seat. At the count, after it was clear Labour had won, a town hall porter&nbsp; came to me with a brown paper parcel and said "Councillor Kotz, I think you may be needing this." It was the red flag.<br /><br />The town hall porter?&nbsp; He was Uncle Mick married to my mother's sister Marion. An example of working class solidarity.<br /><br />I would urge anyone involved in Labour politics to read this book. Every page has a lesson for today about building the world for tomorrow.<br /><br /><b>Vintage red: the story of a municipal socialist</b> John Kotz, <a href="http://www.manifestopress.org.uk/">Manifesto Press</a> Price £9.95 ISBN 978-1-907464-06-5<br /><br /><b>Update:&nbsp;</b> Nice review in the <a href="http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/content/view/full/109438">Morning Star</a></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-18348223723663187052011-08-16T14:11:00.000+01:002013-08-25T16:22:00.228+01:00A British Methodist speaks to a French newspaper about the riots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div closure_uid_jwmylm="443">Regular readers will know that the area around our church has been convulsed by riots in recent weeks. On Friday I went to place a floral tribute at the site of the death of three local young Asian men in Dudley Road. I was approached by a French journalist. <a href="http://www.lejdd.fr/International/Europe/Images/Birmingham-rend-hommage-aux-victimes-des-emeutes/Birmingham-rend-hommage-aux-victimes-des-emeutes-372733/">This what I said </a>&nbsp;Back in September and please keep praying!</div></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-81608532469137462152011-08-12T09:56:00.002+01:002013-08-25T16:22:08.943+01:00Dudley Road deaths: Methodist statement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">City Road Methodist Church is located a few hundred yards from the site of one of the most horrific incidents of this week's rioting - the killing of three men protecting the shops on Dudley Road from looters.<br /><br />The stewards have placed the following message on the church notice board.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Franklin Gothic Medium&quot;;"> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Franklin Gothic Medium&quot;;">We would like to express our profound shock at the deaths of Haroon Jahan, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir &nbsp;on Dudley Road this week.</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Franklin Gothic Medium&quot;;">We extend our sympathies to their families, and our respect for the measured way in which the families and communities have responded to this tragedy.</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Franklin Gothic Medium&quot;;">We continue to join with all men and women of goodwill in praying for the peace of our community. </span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-85440326993261863612011-07-10T16:00:00.002+01:002013-08-25T16:24:37.211+01:00Utterly, utterly shocked - a church that needs your prayers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>There is a Methodist Church&nbsp; where newly arrived Black people were asked to sit in some designated rows at the back. When they saw fellow white worshipers in the street the Black people were ignored. Matters came to a head when a steward - a lovely man - asked a Black man to help take the collection.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>The other white stewards called a meeting and insisted that no Black person be allowed to take any part in leadership. Several Black people then left and to this day worship elsewhere if they worship at all. There is a suggestion that some of the white Methodists&nbsp; may have been active in racist politics.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>When did this happen? In the late 1960s.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>Where did this happen? In my own church.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>Why hasn't anything been said before? Because we didn't know.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>How did we find out? A student from <a href="http://www.queens.ac.uk/">Queens</a> did some systematic pastoral visiting and gradually uncovered the story over the last three months.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>What are we going to do about it? Paul our Minister started the process this morning when he acknowledged it had happened and apologised. We believe there are about 40 elderly people out there who over 43 years later are still hurting from this racist abuse. A programme of visits is being organised by a circuit lay minister.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>We always knew there was a dark shadow over the church. None of us could put our finger on it. Some thought it was a flirtation with freemasonry, others ascribed "spirits" of disappointment and so on, but we didn't know.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>We also knew there was some sensitivity about race - we are a rare mixed race congregation - but no one&nbsp; ever said that this had happened. Now a lot of things fall into place. We are beginning to understand why certain divisions appeared but no one helped us address these issues by explicitly saying what went on. There was a spirit of negativity which seemed beyond anyone's comprehension </b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>Having lost many of our Black congregation - mainly newly arrived migrants from the West Indies - many of the white congregation simply joined the "white flight", leaving the area and the church. Within five or six years ofter the incident over the collection the church was on the verge of closure. Then something wonderful happened which I have described <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2008/01/fresh-expression-made-me-methodist.html">elsewhere</a>. </b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>When David the student from Queens first told me his findings my jaw dropped. I feel as if I want to cry. I'm broken hearted that our church is&nbsp; perceived by people in those terms.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b><b></b><br /><br /><b>I remember all the effort we've put in. But for nearly half a century we had been carrying this burden of which we were completely unaware.&nbsp; </b><b>I need as a white person to understand why at no point in my 27 year's membership I hadn't stumbled on this horrible truth. </b><b>I've since discussed it other people who were in the church in the 1980s and 1990s. They too are utterly shocked that the racism was so overt and obvious. </b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>We know that it isn't acceptable now. But it wasn't acceptable then. This was out and out racism on Methodist premises amongst a Methodist congregation with Methodist people as both perpetrators and victims.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>In recent weeks we have been undertaking essential repairs to our roof, treating dry rot and removing tons of rubbish that had accumulated over many years. We have developed an "empty room" policy. If a room is not used we want the rubbish out.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>That is how we feel about this terrible blot on our reputation. It has made us more determined to physically clean the building. We probably will be issuing a statement acknowledging that this happened and offering an unreserved apology.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>We are not going to burden anyone by asking for their forgiveness, nor are we asking anyone to forget. Far from it, we need to understand that Methodism and the Christianity of which it is part is not immune from the various evil spirits, including racism. </b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>Every single white person involved in these incidents have long since left the church, the area or died. I just hope that this was just one incident and was not repeated in other Methodist churches.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>However they have left behind a terrible legacy of which we have only just become aware. We now need to take this forward. We need to pray for healing. We need your prayers.</b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>Thank you for reading this.</b></div></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-82010879832457035862011-07-10T15:32:00.003+01:002013-08-25T16:47:40.720+01:00The night we were bombed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kfdsdtd4Jw8/Thm2LID-ZAI/AAAAAAAACW8/D1Yb63i9rZs/s1600/CRMC+bombhole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kfdsdtd4Jw8/Thm2LID-ZAI/AAAAAAAACW8/D1Yb63i9rZs/s200/CRMC+bombhole.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>The shaft of light in the middle of this picture is a reminder that for a few hours in 1943 the future of <a href="http://www.cityroad.org.uk/">our church</a> was in the balance. A German raid had left a trail of damage through Rotten Park, two houses fifty yards down City Road had been blown up.<br /><br />A bomb came through our roof, left a hole and then landed on the church floor where some brave soul defused it. The roof was repaired and the incident forgotten. That was until last Thursday when the roofers found a round hole in the pitch and horsehair felt that had been used to cover the rafters in 1903. Underneath in the woodwork was the hole that has been unnoticed -for many years. Next week the hole will be covered up and the incident again forgotten.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-33076993060141910392011-07-08T00:01:00.000+01:002013-08-25T16:25:08.331+01:00Jews and Methodists repair rifts - Jewish Chronicle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/51302/methodists-and-jews-repair-rifts">This morning's Jewish Chronicle carries favourable coverage of Monday evening's fringe event.</a><br /><br />My comment earlier this week is <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/07/wonderful-methodist-fringe-event-at.html">here</a><br /><br />I note with interest that this event was not covered by <a href="http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoyou.content&amp;cmid=2878">any other Methodist bloggers</a>, which I think a great shame given the significance of the occasion.<br /><br />I also note how little coverage and enthusiasm there appears to have been for the anti-Israeli fringe&nbsp; meeting held on Tuesday evening. But then it isn't a good idea to invite a speaker <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/06/speaker-at-methodist-conference-to.html">who praises suicide bombers as "martyrs"!</a></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-67911933234350696642011-07-06T09:29:00.001+01:002013-08-25T16:27:47.921+01:00Otto von Hapsburg - a good friend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1cIu6_iguzI/ThQSbWGnARI/AAAAAAAACWg/UiA5BUKDwA8/s1600/20110103204906%2521Otto_von_Habsburg_Belvedere_1998_c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1cIu6_iguzI/ThQSbWGnARI/AAAAAAAACWg/UiA5BUKDwA8/s200/20110103204906%2521Otto_von_Habsburg_Belvedere_1998_c.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>One of the more unexpected turns in my life was to end up on first name terms with the Crown Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/8616240/Archduke-Otto-von-Habsburg.html">Otto von Hapsburg,</a> who died on Monday was, like me, a Member of the European Parliament. Just occasionally the system of sitting people in alphabetical order for meetings meant that we sat alongside each others as "H"s.<br /><br />We were both diligent attenders at the Friday morning sessions in Strasburg where agriculture and rural affairs were the staple diet and occasionally even crossed swords in debate. He and I vied for the title of the best annual attendance, which normally ended in a tie at 100%. On the one year that I lost my title bid due to an operation just two MEPs&nbsp; (apart from immediate Labour colleagues) rang me to find out how I was - Otto and Ian Paisley!<br /><br />I will not try here to write an obituary, but&nbsp; simply remember him as a colleague. What really impressed me about Otto was that despite his title and - I assumed - wealth, he was prepared to put himself forward to election. He and his son had some fairly definite and democratic views about royalty which I found impressive and refreshing.<br /><br />He loved, and was never cross about the constant retelling, of the urban myth that he once went into the television room in Strasbourg, was told that they were watching the Austria-Hungary world cup match and asked who were they playing.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Otto had a passion for the former Austro-Hungarian Empire of which he would have been the crown prince. He took a great deal of interest in the emergence of democracy in its former territories in countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. I know that he was particularly upset as events unfolded in Bosnia. His interventions in debate were always well thought out and knowledgeable. <br /><br />However it was his Christian faith which proved to be the bedrock of his life. He was, a Catholic, but I was touched that he took a great deal of interest in the faith and work of a youngish Methodist from the UK. We Methodists don't often understand how different and sometimes fascinating it is for European Catholics to discover that lay Methodists&nbsp; can undertake roles such as preaching, pastoral visiting, even delivering communion. He took a great deal of interest in the monthly prayer breakfast though was rarely able to attend.<br /><br />Towards the end of my mandate I joined Otto and other members of his family in planning a pan-European pilgrimage to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela">Santiago de Compostela</a>. They were keen that I continued with the project but I felt that the Methodist "one year rule" was a good principle to observe in the circumstances and so took no further part.<br /><br />On several occasions I found myself - along with other Christians on the Parliaments left - voting alongside the Christian Democrats on issues affecting faith and family life. Otto was always very supportive about these minor rebellions, as were, incidentally, most of my Labour Party colleagues. On our final day in the Parliament he came over and said "Thank you for having the courage to bring God into our chamber" - which led to an interesting, but short ecumenical discussion on the presence of God.&nbsp; <br /><br />What I learned from Otto's example is that high birth and royal blood were no barriers to effective and democratic public service. He could have lived his exile from his beloved Austria as a society playboy like most other former royals. Instead he worked as any other citizen and made the best use of the democratic system of the European Union as it gradually emerged from both the second world war and Soviet domination.<br /><br />Dying at 98 he clearly had what we call a "good innings", however during all that time he played well and gave&nbsp; his time&nbsp; and talents for others. A great man, a great European.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-6202497338183325752011-07-05T12:27:00.007+01:002013-08-25T16:37:53.077+01:00Wonderful Methodist fringe event at Southport synagogue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T8oc9ne7eks/ThLeDv_5H-I/AAAAAAAACWc/3X7LW_vSWzs/s1600/Southport+synagogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T8oc9ne7eks/ThLeDv_5H-I/AAAAAAAACWc/3X7LW_vSWzs/s1600/Southport+synagogue.jpg" /></a></div>Congratulations and thanks are in order to the Jewish British Board of Deputies and our own Methodist external relations department who came up with the idea of a Jewish cultural evening and seder meal as a fringe event to our own Methodist Conference.<br /><br />The <a href="http://jscn.org.uk/southport-hebrew-congregation/">local synagogue</a>&nbsp; in Southport pulled out all the stops and made us feel very welcome. I was, incidentally, very touched by the personal invitation&nbsp; from members of the Jewish community despite not being a conference delegate.<br /><br />There were about 120 delegates present making it one of the biggest fringe events ever held at a Methodist Conference in living memory. Rabbi Saunders - please G-d let us have Ministers like him -&nbsp; introduced us to the fabric and layout of the synagogue. Much of what he said resonated with members of a denomination which started worshiping in fields and barns.<br /><br />The Rabbi then led us into the community hall where there was an exhibition on the Jewish Way of Life (by the way this will be open again this evening for delegates who didn't make it last night). We then sat down for a splendid meal as the Rabbi explained each element of the meal, and described how they mixed worship and education with food, much like a good Alpha course!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />We then had short speeches from the local chair of district, the vice president of the BOD and the head of our external affairs department. They described the painful journey from last year's awful conference (my word, not theirs) when relations between the two communities had broken down following the disgraceful (again my word not theirs) acceptance by conference of the "report" on Palestine and Israel. <br /><br />Since then there has been a series of meetings which have now enabled a dialogue to get underway. Last night's meal would have been impossible during last year's conference and we must hope and pray for better understanding between the tow communities.<br /><br />I would like to add a number of observations. Last year's conference brought me close to resignation as a Methodist local preacher, and possibly close to leaving Methodism. I believe that we soiled ourselves with what happened at Portsmouth. I know that many other Methodists felt the same. I do not want to be associated with a church which acts in a way that makes me ashamed.<br /><br />Later this week we will hopefully be adopting the <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/06/methodist-conference-to-be-pressed-to.html">EUMC definition of anti-Semitism</a> as a "resource". Had we done that previously, it would have been impossible for conference to commission a report compiled by a tiny unrepresentative clique of people known for their antipathy to Judaism and their dependence on avowedly&nbsp; anti-Semitic sources. Naim Ateek would have been unacceptable as a guest speaker. It would not be appropriate for delegations of presidents and vice presidents to go to the Holy Land and repeat anti-Israeli defamation.<br /><br />Hopefully conference has learned that when dealing with sensitive issues we need to make an approach with humility, maturity and an understanding that we should be transparent and balanced. This was absent last year. We simply outsourced our views and reputation to a self appointed clique that were not representative of Methodism. I know that one or two voices against this were raised, but they were ignored. This must not happen again.<br /><br />However there are still outstanding issues. The&nbsp; "report" still stands as official Methodist policy. I have yet to hear any suggestion that this is reviewed. The danger of interfaith dialogue is that it enables some people to express their anti-Jewish views whilst prefixing their remarks with the mantra "some of my best friends are Jewish". This was very much on display during the debate at last year's conference. One or two speakers seem to forget that some of us have a long memory and know them of old. We still have some <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/05/open-hearts-open-minds-open-doors-and.html">skeletons in our own cupboard</a> which needs airing.<br /><br />Then we still have the elephant in our own room of the proposed cull of Methodists sympathetic to Israel. This point alone demonstrates the arrogance with which the working party drawing up the "report" thought they had carte blanche to do what they wanted. It may actually mark the high tide of the influence of anti-Semitism within the denomination.<br /><br /><a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/07/faith-and-order-committee-works-in.html">Yesterday I drew attention to the work of the Faith and Order Committee on Christian Zionism</a>. Unlike the "report" this has the potential to impact directly on the standing and membership of individual Methodists within the Connexion. I will place on the record now that the advice I have received is that unless this work is patently transparent and open for full consultation those individuals effected would be able to seek a judicial review.<br /><br />My strong advice to the Faith and Order Committee is that it urgently reviews just how it is going about this task. Arrogance and secrecy&nbsp; is no way to approach an issue that may involve some of us having our membership withdrawn. <br /><br />Later this afternoon our official conference website tells us of a fringe meeting with the sentimental title "Messages from a Broken Land - Kairos Palestine: A Mother's Voice". This is a meeting chaired by the President of Methodist Women. <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/06/speaker-at-methodist-conference-to.html">The speaker is a woman who regards suicide bombers as "martyrs"</a>. No doubt she will be very charming and there will be plenty of tears. However let us understand what she is endorsing.<br /><br />A typical Palestinian suicide bomber is a young teenager who has been brainwashed to infiltrate a Jewish school bus and blow-up themselves and several other teenage children. Many are killed and others maimed which is exactly what the adult instigators intend. This tactic is used both against the children of Israel and against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Older "martyrs" have been used in London, New York, Barcelona and Indonesia. I put a formal complaint through to Methodist Women and Church House. Church House have acknowledged but ignored the complaint. Methodist Women outsourced my complaint to Warren Bardsley who responded with great unpleasantness.<br /><br />We can't tell Jews on a Monday that we want to be their friends and then publicise and welcome on the Tuesday&nbsp; those who praise the killers of Jewish children.<br /><br />However I get a sense that this evening's meeting&nbsp; with Mrs Hind Khoury is an unpleasant throw back to the disgraceful outcome of last year's conference.<br /><br /><a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/07/afternoon-at-methodist-conference-2011.html">Earlier this morning I wrote of the spiritual warfare </a>now underway in the Connexion and this is just another manifestation. Next year I hope that we may be joined by some of the Arab Israeli citizens, many of them Christians, who enjoy full civil and economic rights in the State of Israel. Meanwhile as I pray for the Peace of Jerusalem I give thanks that the security wall has seriously reduced the number of Jewish children murdered by suicide bombers.<br /><br />Finally, over recent weeks I have seen some very positive moves within the connexion to put behind us last year's disgraceful "report" and subsequent resolution. There is still much to be done. There has been much positive feedback from the Jewish community. The anti-Semitic clique which instigated and be-witched&nbsp; last year's conference now seemed marginalised and out of step with the emerging thinking and attitudes of&nbsp; British Methodism. The acceptance of the EUMC definition of anti-Semitism will be an important step forward. More transparency is needed in the work of the Faith and Order Committee on Christian Zionism.<br /><br /><b>However, for the time being I will pause the preparation of the legal challenge that I instigated in the aftermath of last year's conference.</b><br /><br />Our priority must be to proclaim the Good News. It is time for Methodism to focus on the things we can do and do well. John Wesley didn't go where he was needed, he went where he was needed most. It is time to re-order our priorities and listen carefully to God.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-71565092536643765712011-06-28T11:02:00.001+01:002013-08-25T16:30:32.954+01:00A whole culture has evaporated in our lifetime<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I read with interest Robert's <a href="http://theradicalmethodist.blogspot.com/2011/06/sunday-school.html">post</a> on attempts to revitalise a Sunday School in the Methodist Church closest to Birmingham city centre. Let us hope that God blesses this initiative in an area with as much need as that surrounding our own church.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1B6ikN4cwRo/Tgml572PiPI/AAAAAAAACVE/rua6L66BgaI/s1600/methodistsundayschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1B6ikN4cwRo/Tgml572PiPI/AAAAAAAACVE/rua6L66BgaI/s200/methodistsundayschool.jpg" height="156" width="200" /></a>But Robert's post got me thinking about Sunday Schools and the whole culture that it represented. It also reminded me that within my own quarter of a century of preaching Sunday Schools and children's work have simply disappeared across whole swathes of the Christian community in Britain.<br /><br />It is not an urban myth that some churches celebrate the Sunday School Anniversary long after the Sunday School is closed. To my knowledge a church in our circuit - now heavily dependent on the excellent West Midlands "Ring and Ride" scheme - consisting of six elderly people, still marks the anniversary. <br /><br />When I started preaching in the 1980s it was taken for granted that during&nbsp; the morning service the preacher would be expected to include a short children's story and ascertain with the stewards the best time for the children to leave for their classes. I still do some children's talks, but it certainly is no longer a universal requirement. Where children's work continues new schemes are used such as Godly Play or Mucky Church.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_school">Sunday School movemen</a>t has a long and honourable history stretching back&nbsp; nearly three centuries. For many it was the only education available, for others, it enhanced our state provided education.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaJ30BantuI/TgmmTzdCNJI/AAAAAAAACVI/R6u7FEIatAk/s1600/methodistnativity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaJ30BantuI/TgmmTzdCNJI/AAAAAAAACVI/R6u7FEIatAk/s200/methodistnativity.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></div>There was a whole culture of Sunday School life, much of which has now disappeared, largely in the last twenty years: I have already mentioned the anniversary. Then there was the annual outing, the built up and delivery of the nativity play, the sticky pictures distributed weekly to denote attendance, the prize givings, the wonderful Bible stories (usually of Jesus's miracles plus the story of David and Goliath), the "sunny smiles", the stirring stories of missionaries in far flung parts of the world and the JMA collection or its equivalent in other denominations, and then the wonderful songs.<br /><br />Ah yes the songs. There will soon be an entire generation who have never sung "<a href="http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/l/l/illbeasb.htm">Jesus wants me for a sunbeam"</a>, <a href="http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/i/d/widewide.htm">"Wide, wide as the ocean"</a>, "The best book to read is the Bible" (not available on the net so probably has disappeared forever) and, my favourite, with actions, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ens48Apw9Cs&amp;NR=1">"The wise man built his house upon the rock" </a><br /><br />My childhood was spent in a working class area. Even then, amongst the non-Jewish population, only a minority of us went to Sunday School. I went to one with about two hundred other children. It was run each Sunday afternoon at Paragon Hall by the local Plymouth Brethren. The teachers were all interesting people with a deep love and fondness for their Darby Bibles which they had marked and remarked during many quiet times and nights of fervent prayer and fasting.<br /><br />Other school friends went to other denominations - the Anglicans, the Methodists on Chatsworth Road <a href="http://www.hackneymethodist.org.uk/claptonpark.html">(still there I see)</a>, the Sally Army at <a href="http://www2.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki_ihc.nsf/vw-sublinks/54E0CD3C2212E2D3802574330046B343?openDocument">Congress Hall</a> and the <a href="http://www.web.theroundchapel.org.uk/the-church-at-the-round-chapel/sunday-worship">Round Chapel</a> (where I went to cubs).<br /><br />What was clear to me then, was that Sunday Schools provided a common culture and an understanding of faith that was not available through the RE lessons at our schools.&nbsp; In later life that understanding was used as a basis for young people to hear the Gospel, be challenged and then become subjects of His divine grace. This has largely disappeared. The minority of the 1950s have become a tiny fraction. Evangelists of the future will have to start from absolute scratch.<br /><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-7706527835711761352011-06-23T09:10:00.001+01:002013-08-25T16:33:22.420+01:00The European Parliament under scrutiny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsKCUz8U_5w/TgLtkd8ytWI/AAAAAAAACUY/LQNDixPC7Y8/s1600/The+EP+8th+edn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsKCUz8U_5w/TgLtkd8ytWI/AAAAAAAACUY/LQNDixPC7Y8/s200/The+EP+8th+edn.jpg" height="200" width="186" /></a></div>Yesterday I was at the London School of Economics where the European studies department hosted the launch of the 8th Edition of the standard textbook <a href="http://www.europesparliament.com/">The European Parliament</a>. It has been extensively updated to reflect the growing influence of the EP following the Lisbon Treaty and the enlargement to the East.<br /><br />Only one of the authors, Michael Shackleton, was present but he was joined in a panel discussion by former MEP and government minister David Curry, Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform, and Sara Hagemann a lecturer at the LSE.<br /><br />The main theme to emerge was that the EP has now grown beyond its institutional battles with the Commission and Council and was therefore able to enter a more ideological phase. During my mandate (1994-1999) I remember countless clashes with the other institutions that just reminded us how powerless the elected part of the European Union governance really&nbsp; was. However, even with its new powers the EP will struggle for legitimacy and credibility.<br /><br />There was one interesting development of which I was unaware. The two main European political families will each go to the next European elections with a designated candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission. In the past the selection of the Commission President has been an unseemly carve up. My suspicion is that will remain the case. However the next European elections, due in 2014, may offer more transparency than previously.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />One speaker made the point that many arrive at the EP expecting it to be something like their own national parliament, whereas each member state has a radically unique form of governance. However the EP has a special role in scrutinising EU legislation, something that national parliaments are unable and unwilling to do. Political colleagues in member states find it difficult to understand that MEPs often develop a view different from their own national party colleagues.<br /><br />A growing area of influence is the extensive research capacity and the specialisms of individual members. Legislation is taken through the EP by a <i>rapporteur</i>&nbsp; selected from the members of a particular committee. By the time that the legislation had completed its progress through the EP that <i>rapporteur </i>is the undisputed expert. This plays huge dividends when legislation goes to the Council of Ministers for final agreement. In the co-decision part of the process the<i> rapporteur</i>, representing the EP is at a huge advantage compared with the Council's six monthly rotating presidency. <br /><br />A fascinating and enlightening book launch on a subject that has huge ramifications as Europe faces the stress of the financial crisis and growing concern about migration and diversity.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-9194971583317037762011-06-22T09:00:00.007+01:002013-08-27T17:03:45.050+01:00Dealing with depression<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtS-1tJJ_x0/TgGLAf971TI/AAAAAAAACUM/XMyVzlPGiiA/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtS-1tJJ_x0/TgGLAf971TI/AAAAAAAACUM/XMyVzlPGiiA/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" /></a></div>Another Methodist blogger, a minister, is suffering from depression. Like Winston Churchill he describes this attack as "Black Dog".<br /><br />Sadly I'm concluding that a large proportion of Methodist Ministers in the UK suffer from varying kinds of depression. I don't have any statistical evidence but I have noticed since interacting with more ministers on the social media they seem to go AWOL for a few months and then return mentioning depression and stress for their absence. It does seem that&nbsp; there are occupational health issues that need to be addressed. Perhaps something is wrong with our selection procedures or support systems. I don't know.<br /><br />Just a couple of times in my life I have faced depression. I've never had it clinically defined but I've had periods of hopelessness, a loss of control, a complete lack of energy, and a profound feeling of disappointment. Both periods coincided with a time when I felt especially deprived of my faith<br /><a name='more'></a>. The first period was when I was about thirteen, shortly after my parents split up and my father went to prison. It was a time of profound loneliness. There were other aspects to it which I don't feel able to discuss publicly. I questioned whether life was worth living.<br /><br />One immediate outcome was that I rejected Christianity - not that at that time I had made a commitment -&nbsp; so the resources of the church and congregation were not available. Though later I found out that I had been the focus of much prayer by our local Plymouth Brethren assembly. At that age it feels that I simply grew out of it. Being thirteen or fourteen in post-war London offered amazing opportunities, even if they sometimes lapped the fringes of criminality. My conversion was not a reaction to the earlier depression.<br /><br />The other episode is more recent and follows the loss of a job, a great deal of humiliation and a period economic instability. Once again it isn't appropriate to go into details. However many of my closest friends were concerned at the sudden loss of the unbounded optimism that has always been an important aspect of my character. I found it difficult to feel the presence of God. This time I had the support of Christian friends and we were able to manage a way out of it with prayer, a retreat and starting a new creative project.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2cdXKtqfSc/TgGh3yiO3lI/AAAAAAAACUQ/BD1bxcDRThc/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2cdXKtqfSc/TgGh3yiO3lI/AAAAAAAACUQ/BD1bxcDRThc/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" /></a></div>What struck me about both episodes is that much of the focus was on the "I" and the "me". This is immediately evident from the three paragraphs I have just written. During both periods, and one or two minor episodes, I felt the absence of God and found prayer difficult. My wife and I have written a paper <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-begin-to-pray.html">"How to begin to pray"</a> which acknowledges that prayer does not come easily to Christians, that we face super natural opposition and sometimes our prayers seem to "hit the ceiling".<br /><br />Somewhere there is a line where depression ceases to be a condition that a Christian can handle using their own personal or church resources and needs medical definition and treatment. I never crossed that line, though know many who have. That doesn't mean that our faith ceases to have a part to play in the management of, and recovery from, depression. Far from it, a good church can help people immensely. That is the reason so many people with a tendency to depression and other mental health issues make their way to our doors. This does place pressure on us, but it is a sign of "success" which is often overlooked and undervalued.<br /><br />So how do we approach "black dog"? I feel we have to turn to a very well known hymn, which I once heard&nbsp; described as "sentimental treacle" by one of our liberal theologians, that actually deals very honestly with all aspects of depression. The hymn offers the best possible response for a Christian and one that must be part of any remedy.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_M._Scriven">Joseph Scriven</a> was born in Dublin in 1820. In his twenties he fell in love.. The day before his wedding his fiance was drowned. He moved to Canada, again fell in love, and again his fiance died. He had every cause to be depressed. He was a poet and wrote some verses for his mother who was herself having difficulties. It was called "Pray without ceasing", a reference to the advice to be found in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%205&amp;version=KJV">1 Thessalonians 5</a>, itself a letter to a depressed and fearful body of early Christians. The poem was set to music and is still sang in churches as "What a friend we have in Jesus".<br /><br />In verse 1 Scriven laments our refusal to take our problems to Jesus and makes the point that we carry additional pain as a consequence.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAOYUe4irkg/TgGh-9I0cVI/AAAAAAAACUU/Z1hKqhyKlq0/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAOYUe4irkg/TgGh-9I0cVI/AAAAAAAACUU/Z1hKqhyKlq0/s1600/BlackDog.jpeg" /></a></div><b>What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.</b><br /><br />Verse 2 raises the consequence of deprression - trials, temptations and discouragement - all integral to bad depression. But we are reminded that Jesus already knows our weaknesses and the issues we face, so why not talk to Him in prayer?<b><br /></b><br /><br /><b>Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.</b><br /><br />In verse 3 Scriven describes<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Depression/Pages/Symptoms.aspx"> the classical symptoms of depression</a> - the loss of control, the anxieties, feelings of guilt. Tellingly, and bravely, he points out that at our lowest our friends are often nowhere to be seen and of little help, even despising the depressive. A reminder from Proverbs 58:24 “There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother."<span style="font-variant: small-caps;"></span><br /><br /><b>Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.</b><br /><br />Those three verses appear in the current Methodist hymnbook Hymns and Psalms (1983) as 559<b>.&nbsp; </b>However Scriven's fourth unused verse points to the time of hope and rapture when there will be no need of prayer. Until that happens though we are urged to bring our burdens in earnest prayer.<br /><br /><b>Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer. Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer, Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.</b><br /><br />I have no counseling or medical&nbsp;<b> </b>qualifications, and I would defer to those who have on the issue of depression. However I strongly believe that depression is a spiritual attack and one that should be resisted spiritually. Earnest prayer is a better response than alcohol and may be a better remedy than anti-depressants. The problem we have as a church in 21st century Britain is that we have lost the spiritual gifts which come from deep and sustained personal and corporate prayer.<br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-3927465791377183752011-05-30T12:04:00.003+01:002013-08-25T16:43:22.607+01:00Imagine I did it my way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dave Faulkner a Methodist Minister&nbsp; and blogger had a rare Sunday off yesterday, went to a church which he doesn't identify on a "no names, no pack drill" basis, <a href="http://bigcircumstance.com/2011/05/30/what-would-you-say-to-the-organist/">and stumbled on one of the hobby horses I rarely mention here</a> - the inappropriate choice of secular music for a religious services.<br /><br />In Dave's case his eyebrows were raised by the organist's&nbsp; choice of John Lenon's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_%28song%29"><i>Imagine</i></a> to play before the service. It's the one that contains the lines "Imagine there's no religion" with its implication that the world would be a better place without us sky pilots and G-d botherers.<br /><br />Dave admits that when requested for funerals he blocks it and encourages another choice of Beatles music such as <i>Twist and Shout.</i><br /><br />My hobby horse is that awful song by Frank Sinatra<i><a href="http://www.lyrics007.com/Frank%20Sinatra%20Lyrics/My%20Way%20Lyrics.html"> I did it my way</a> . </i>I thought it was an urban myth in the 1990s that people actually chose it as a funeral hymn. In 2005 the Co-operative Funeral Services (who will be sorting me out when the time comes)<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/nov/17/arts.artsnews1"> published a survey</a> showing it was the most popular of all secular tunes at funerals.<br /><br />Even then I wasn't convinced that anyone could be so crass as to play it at a funeral until a few weeks ago when I passed the larger chapel at a crematorium , we were in the smaller chapel.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />I know there was a Christian minister as we saw the mourners gathering as we filed in (actually for some reason I assumed she was a Methodist). It was a much bigger funeral&nbsp; than ours and there was a relay to the overflow loudspeaker outside, which did&nbsp; irritate us as we met in the garden of remembrance. To be honest I already felt antipathy to the deceased.<br /><br />Then the Minister said, "And now we will play a song which really sums up his attitude to life" and the loudspeakers burst into life with<i> I did it my way</i>.<br /><br />Is it a polite way to remember a selfish person? It is a celebration of individualistic self satisfaction expressing no regrets for the hurt they may have caused. I just cannot understand how anyone can choose it to mark the death of a loved one, but they do, in their thousands.<br /><br />My preference is that we celebrate when&nbsp; people&nbsp; "do it God's way".<br /><br />My final hymn will be what some see as a secular choice <i>Jerusalem</i> and they will march me out to <i>Ode to Joy.&nbsp; </i><br /><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-77339652843241708882011-05-28T11:40:00.000+01:002013-08-27T16:59:51.084+01:00The Steventon Fire Brigade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n3sgNrqXqPs/TeDMj2BFSvI/AAAAAAAACTg/E3oVMIa4vGs/s1600/Steventon+Fire+Brigade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n3sgNrqXqPs/TeDMj2BFSvI/AAAAAAAACTg/E3oVMIa4vGs/s400/Steventon+Fire+Brigade.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A couple of weeks ago I published a picture of my great grandfather, Alexander Rowland Jones, with his engine <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/05/county-of-pembroke.html">The County of Pembroke</a>. I found a cache of families photos during a sort out. Here's another photograph of&nbsp; great grandfather Jones with his men in the <a href="http://www.steventon.info/">Steventon</a> volunteer fire brigade.He is top right in the peaked cap. I've been trying to date the photograph. Obviously we know that it was taken sometime between 1890 and the 1920s. My feeling is that had it been taken after the First World War there would be more service medals on display. It could be that the four medal holders had served in the Boer Wars placing it sometime between 1902 and 1914. If any readers know anything about the subject I'd love to hear from them.<br /><br />Just one thing about Steventon: historically it was part of the Royal County of Berkshire. In fact my grandfather fought with the Royal Berks. There was great anger in that part of the family when Steventon was transferred into Oxfordshire as part of the reorganisation of local government in the 1970s.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-63298148839412341462011-05-27T09:50:00.001+01:002013-08-25T16:45:09.039+01:00The man who persuaded me that pacifism wasn't always right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k9Rk9QTTBSM/Td9iXcBVhkI/AAAAAAAACTY/LMHw71KKk64/s1600/Ratko+Mladic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k9Rk9QTTBSM/Td9iXcBVhkI/AAAAAAAACTY/LMHw71KKk64/s1600/Ratko+Mladic.jpeg" /></a></div>Today I rejoice that&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13561407">Ratko Mladic</a> may soon face justice. His crimes in Sebronicia persuaded me that there were times when military force was necessary. My pacifism died with those he massacred.<br /><br />A couple of years ago The Independent produced a damming report on the war crimes of the Serbian forces. <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-i-ceased-to-be-pacifist.html">I posted this in July 2009 and it provoked an interesting discussion:</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>'</b></span>There aren't many people who can explain how and when they ceased to be a pacifist. I am one such person.<br /><br />Today's moving and painful article in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/in-bosnia-each-funeral-never-ends-1742767.html">The Independent on Sunday</a> reminded me of the course of events that changed my philosophy and even to a small extent how I expressed my faith.<br /><br />I had been elected to the European Parliament in 1994. One issue I could not miss was that of the terrible things that had happened in Bosnia. I have mentioned <a href="http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2007/09/non-christian-has-ever-prayed-for-me.html">before </a>a terrible moment when I met the full force of the evil at work in Bosnia:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">"I<span style="font-family: times new roman;"> remember a Muslim woman from </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" style="font-family: times new roman;">Tuzla</span><span style="font-family: times new roman;">, a Muslim community in the former Yugoslavia, visiting me in my office in Brussels way back in 1995. She told me something of the breakdown of civil society. For some reason I had to leave my office to meet a visiting delegation. When I returned I suggested we (myself and my research assistant, a young woman) prayed for her and her family.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">When we finished praying her face was awash with tears. "No Christian has ever prayed for me", she sobbed.</span></span><br /><br /><div align="justify" style="font-family: times new roman; font-weight: bold;"><br />Afterwards my research assistant explained that while I was out of the room the woman mentioned that she had been seriously sexually assaulted by Serbian soldiers who she knew to be Christians because they were wearing crucifixes" </div><div align="justify" style="font-family: times new roman; font-weight: bold;"><br />"No Christian has ever prayed for me"</div><br />A few weeks later the town of Sebrenica was surrounded by the Serbs. There was a tiny force of ill equipped and out numbered Dutch soldiers, supposedly part of a European peace mission.<br /><br />The Dutch did not have the stomach for a fight. Neither did the rest of Europe. I well remember the impassioned speech by a young Green MEP <a href="http://alexander%20langer/">Alexander Langer</a>. He pleaded with the Parliament to do something, anything to help the people of Sebrenica. He pointed to the sheer evil that was about to unfold. Some of us, breaking party lines, supported his motion calling for military intervention. It was probably the first time in my life I had supported the use of violence.<br /><br />For Alexander, who had become the voice of Sebrenica, the stress was too much. The weekend after his resolution was defeated, he hung himself. A good man who still had much to give.<br /><br />A few days later we saw the men and women of Sebrenica being seperated. The men were taken to their deaths, the women became homeless widows.<br /><br />That is why I am no longer a pacifist, much as I respected good men like Donald Soper, I realised that there were times when the military option was the only option available.<br /><br />Please read the Independent article. This happened about 600 miles from where I am sitting now. The problem is that I and thousands of others did just that, we sat.<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>'</b></span></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-8376090608343878202011-05-21T00:01:00.002+01:002013-08-25T16:49:45.856+01:00Church to spend thousands on Medieval mumbo-jumbo case<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The British Methodist Church, which is always claiming to be facing serious financial difficulties, is about to launch an expensive legal case, the sort that will cost someone in the region of £250,000 to prove that Methodist Ministers are "office holders" rather than employees.<br /><br />Rather strangely they have issued a <a href="http://methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.newsDetail&amp;newsid=507">press release</a> boasting about this legal extravagance.<br /><br />It arises out of <a href="http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/story.asp?sectioncode=2&amp;storycode=18021&amp;c=3&amp;eclipse_action=getsession">a case in Cornwall earlier this year</a> when a judge ruled that "all the indications point one way" that a Minister is an emplyee and remitted the case to an employment tribunal.<br /><br />The Methodist high command appear to be terrified of an employment tribunal (which they should be, because believe me, throw up all sorts of things) and are taking the case to the Court of Appeal. I gather that the "office holder/employee" in this case has the backing of Unite, her Union, and from my experience they can have very deep pockets. If the Church looses the case they may have to pay costs, which will be very expensive.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />If anyone at Church House had picked up the phone and asked me I would have told them to settle the case for about £30,000 and to get a confidentiality clause. "Compromise agreements" are wonderful legal inventions and avoid so much unnecessary hassle. I know that other denominations have expressed concern about the ruling, but let the Anglicans take it up, they have far more money than us.<br /><br />Ken Howcroft, assistant secretary to conference (normally I note on the side of the angels) is quoted as saying&nbsp; "A minister’s role is one which is traditionally based on the ethos and laws of the Church rather than on a secular ethos. Our ministers have legal rights of redress under Church procedures. The Methodist Church cares for all who serve it, whether lay or ordained, paid or volunteer, and we want to ensure that we treat everyone fairly and properly.”<br /><br />Well as some one who has seen the church's procedures up front and personal, I just don't accept that an aggrieved party has any realistic rights of redress. Seeing a thoroughly decent Minister trashed, opens your eyes to the favouritism and sheer vindictiveness that&nbsp; are apparent in our processes.<br /><br />In a secular situation the victim I know could have sued an emplyer for a considerable settlement. Thankfully for the Church, the victim is a thoroughly decent person who has put the reputation of the Methodist Church before......sorry I can't go on. I get so angry about it and can't stand to even be in the same room with those who vacated their duty of care to a really good person and then stand up at Conference and talk about "justice" as one did last year.<br /><br />The sooner we forget all this mumbo jumbo about office holders employed by God, the better. Then we will all know where we stand. We shouldn't spend another penny on this case.&nbsp; <br /><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-65764615072696246662011-05-18T11:02:00.003+01:002013-08-25T16:52:36.339+01:00Reform of the House of Lords now!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Some of my best friends are members of the House of Lords. I respect them. But I don't respect a legislative chamber with 800 members none of whom have been elected by popular mandate. The US does with a Senate of just 100 members, all elected. Why can't we?<br /><br />I am alarmed to find that there are unofficial quotas that no one talks about. So many from Wales, so many from Scotland, a few Catholics and two - yes two - Methodists. So that's me and Terry out of the loop until Katherine or Leslie turn up their toes.<br /><br />How peers are nominated remains a closely guarded secret. Even my friends in the chamber are reluctant to give away too much. But there have been blatant cases of MPs giving up their safe seats in the Commons to make for a court favourite. If that sounds medieval, it is, because it is medieval.<br /><br />On top on the nominated peers sit the bench of Bishops. How can we justify the Church of England having automatic representation in a Parliament that legislates for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? And then we have the nonsense of hereditary peers - admittedly less than there were - but still there by right of birth.<br /><br />The whole place is a mess. It is no way to run a country. Our local authorities, the devolved assemblies, the European Parliament and the Parliaments in many other countries are uni-cameral.<br /><br />Why not a House of Parliament with just one chamber? Let us turn the Palace of Westminster into museum, hotel and tourist attraction. My friends who work there tell me that it is not fit for purpose.<br /><br />Let us find a nearby building that could house the new chamber with all the mod cons - it really is a revelation to visit the Welsh Assembly with their high tech facilities. In fact I know just the <a href="http://www.c-h-w.com/">building</a> across Parliament Square and the owners could negotiate a very good lease, whilst keeping it available on Sundays for other activities.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-60099989322632197312011-05-17T00:01:00.003+01:002013-08-25T16:54:38.237+01:00The County of Pembroke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ahMoMjzdS28/TdGB9ha_W3I/AAAAAAAACTA/x9EIdiQ6L2U/s1600/County+of+Pembroke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ahMoMjzdS28/TdGB9ha_W3I/AAAAAAAACTA/x9EIdiQ6L2U/s640/County+of+Pembroke.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>I was having a bit of a sort out yesterday when I came across this photograph of my great-grandfather, Alexander Rowland Jones (right), in front of his engine the County of Pembroke No 3839. The family then lived in Steventon which already had a special place in the annals of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steventon_railway_station">Great Western Railway</a>. His branch of the family had settled in Ironbridge Shropshire in the very early 1800s&nbsp; having moved from North Wales, possibly Wrexham or Oswestry (which I know is in England - just). On their way they stayed in Wolverhampton, Aston, and Woolverton.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />It took nearly a century before the Jones arrived in Steventon where his daughter married the son of the local postman who lived in Sumach Cottage, the name of which we suspect was a little bit of a joke, just one or two of my regular readers will understand why.<br /><br />The&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/m_in_440_county.htm">County Class locomotive</a>s &nbsp; were first built in 1904 and Pembroke was amongst the first on the rails&nbsp; so I do wonder if that is the reason for the photograph.<br /><br />There was just one other aspect to the story of my great grandfather's career as locomotive driver. He used to do the Oxford to Paddington route and got to know the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_of_the_United_Kingdom"> Prince of Wales</a>, later&nbsp; to become Edward VIII and finally the Duke of Windsor.<br /><br />The Prince used his position to get to ride in the engine between Paddington and Oxford when he was studying at Magdalen College. He often rode with my great grandfather who fried up on the shovel a traditional locomotive driver's breakfast of&nbsp; eggs and bacon washed down with tea made from water in the boiler. I have read this story elsewhere so I know that&nbsp; my great grandfather wasn't the only driver offering this hospitality to the young prince. However the impact on our family was a profound loyalty to the Prince and a lot of heartache and misplaced sympathy when he abdicated.<br /><br />Something completely different for a normally controversial blog. If anyone has more details about the County of Pembroke, I'd be happy for them to comment here.<br /><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-74599349917622423742011-04-25T18:42:00.001+01:002013-08-25T17:00:02.613+01:00Cheers!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">No posts for a few days. I shall be<a href="http://www.bucs.org.uk/page.asp?section=3503&amp;sectionTitle=Championships"> here</a> cheering like mad for the English team in the men's final and watching carefully the contribution of a certain preacher on note. Even the circuit super is coming!</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-31380813241869874072011-04-22T17:57:00.001+01:002013-08-25T17:00:42.160+01:00A packed Good Friday service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We made our plans very carefully and catered for about 70 - tea, coffee, hot cross buns, hymn books. All the surrounding churches were invited. We knew something special was happening when two young men walked in off the street and wanted to know if we were having a special service. They lived on City Road but worshiped in Handsworth.<br /><br />Then the others began to arrive. First in ones and twos, then whole families. There was a frantic effort to find more chairs, we had to start finding the odd seat here and there. Then we had to make the mircophone work harder so that the service could be heard in the overflow foyer. Fortunately we had a reserve supply of UHT milk. Shortly after the service started there was not one vacant chair and we had run out of hymn books.<br /><br />We always pray for a full church and we learnt today that being full could create problems. A couple of years ago we had a special church meeting to discuss closure. This was a day we thought we would never see.<br /><br />We sang some lovely hymns and heard again the awesome story of Good Friday. It was wonderful to share with our friends at City Road Baptists, St Germains,&nbsp; Christ Church, and people from several other churches. A great morning and a fantastic start to the Easter break.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-11565075718761830912011-03-25T09:11:00.008+00:002013-08-25T17:03:27.965+01:00My first job<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D8Few7Hi9p8/TYxT_h18DhI/AAAAAAAACSM/AMGYK8teJlc/s1600/duplicator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D8Few7Hi9p8/TYxT_h18DhI/AAAAAAAACSM/AMGYK8teJlc/s200/duplicator.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>On Tuesday evening I was due to meet a friend for tea in the Liverpool Street area of London. I had a few minutes to spare before we met and decided to take a look at Curtain Road, just to the north of the station.<br /><br />The area has undergone massive changes since I lived in the area as a child. Where there were scruffy buildings and bombed sites are now massive office blocks.<br /><br />Curtain Road&nbsp; was the site of one of the original <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtain_Theatre">Elizabethan London theatres.</a> It's other claim to fame is that it was the location of my very first full time job.<br /><br />At the age of sixteen I made my way from Hackney to number 23 Curtain Road, a then modern office block and home to the London headquarters of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestetner">Gestetner duplicators</a>. It was 1964. In those days children from Hackney's secondary modern schools were given fairly stark advice - get a job as an office boy or become a machine minder in a factory, and if you had a Dad who could pull strings, get into Fleet Street.<br /><br />Well I became an office boy. It was not as easy transition from school to work. Most of the staff in my office were "Essex girls" and I could not join the conversation. However the credit controller was a very well educated&nbsp; Indian and he took me under his wing.<br /><br />It was interesting to see the accounts. (Am I about to break commercial confidentiality?) Some firms had massive discounts. These included the Communist Party of Great Britain - quite a good customer - and the <a href="http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cats/118/12360.htm">Leysian Methodist Mission</a>, who really didn't spend very much at all. The credit controller explained to me that discounts were sometimes offered on the basis of sentiment rather than sales. I don't think he approved of this system as it depressed the monthly sales figures which determined bonuses.<br /><br />My career trajectory was apparently pre-ordained. After a couple of years in the office I would go on the road with a rep for a couple of months and then be given my own accounts. I'd have a reasonable, though low salary, with a very progressive commission structure. I would have nothing to worry about. Gestetner was the world's leading brand. The Americans and Japanese were experimenting with photocopiers but these would be far too expensive for most offices. My job would be safe.<br /><br />In 1997 when in Japan I met the MD of the company that had bought up the shell that was left of Gestetners. They had bought the company for a song, sold off the property portfolio, took on the goodwill and absorbed a fraction of the UK workforce.<br /><br />Now looking grubby and dated 23 Curtain Road still stands and is the home of several office service companies using and selling the products that swept Gestetner duplicators from the office.<br /><br />What happened to my glittering career as a sales rep? Well when the GCE results came in I found that I had passed commerce and English. But the English result was a real surprise as I had got it at grade 1, the equivalent of an A star today.<br /><br />Our secondary modern had just become a comprehensive. There was a catch up sixth form. I returned, and two years later became the first student from the school to go direct to university at a time when only 1 in 100 boys from Hackney stayed in education beyond the age of 18.<br /><br />Walking along Curtain Road, peering through the windows, remembering the Essex girls and the sales reps, certainly brought back some memories. Just for a moment, I did wonder, did I make the right decision? Life would have been very different had I stayed.</div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807399528155547496.post-6874332812182368292011-03-17T11:16:00.002+00:002013-08-25T17:04:14.720+01:00The progressive case for Israel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Mx2eJMv10zw/TYIdyPbnxRI/AAAAAAAACSA/3L2gXFTazNQ/s1600/apartheid5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Mx2eJMv10zw/TYIdyPbnxRI/AAAAAAAACSA/3L2gXFTazNQ/s320/apartheid5.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>One of the surprises in recent years has been the way in which traditionally progressive organisations in the UK such as parts of the trades union movement, the Quakers and the Methodist Church have come to view Israel as an oppressor. This is surprising because the State of Israel from its outset has sought to proclaim the highest and most progressive Judeo-Christian values.<br /><br />Part of this can be put down to the well funded and constant campaigns that are financed by oil. When I was young my Jewish neighbours used to say that it was all because Moses lacked a sense of direction. Had he turned right instead of left, the Arabs would have the oranges and the Jews would have the oil.<br /><br />There are those that have grown rich on oil, who have all the resources necessary to run campaigns against the only democratic state in the region. Many workers in the region envy Israel with its free trades unions, freedom of speech, intensely democratic parliament and open society. <br /><br />It is no accident that <a href="http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=203350&amp;R=R1">a recent poll of Arabs living in East Jerusalem</a> shows that many would prefer to remain part of Israel&nbsp;&nbsp; and continue to enjoy access to <span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody">the same services as Israelis, including health care, education, unemployment benefits and pensions.</span><br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody">However we have to understand that anti-Semitism is still very much part of the darker side of western societies. We only need to read 19th and early 20th century English literature to realise how casually it was an accepted part of our culture. It went underground after the horrors of the Holocaust and is now re-emerging disguised as an attack on Zionism. Not all, but many of those campaigning against Israel are anti-Semite to the core. It is a form of racism to which the British left, and out own church,&nbsp; must not indulge or excuse.</span><br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody">The Jewish Chronicle recently carried an impressive article by <a href="http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/46487/israel-%E2%80%93-a-progressive-cause">Robert Philpot</a>&nbsp; which sums up the case far better than I can. His critical argument is:</span><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody"><br /></span><br /><b>Israel is, after all, a country founded on social democratic principles; and the Israeli Labor Party, which, alongside our own Labour Party, is a member of the Socialist International, was the country's dominant political force for decades.&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>Indeed, it is because of those social democratic principles that Israel's attributes are undeniably progressive: a free and vibrant media; a robust and independent judiciary; strong trade unions; a generous welfare state; and a commitment to free, world-class education that enables Israel to have one of the highest-skilled workforces on earth.&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>Contrast, too, the equal rights which women, gays and lesbians and other minorities enjoy in Israel with the second-class citizenship and persecution meted out to such groups in most, if not all, of Israel's neighbours.</b><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody"></span><br /><br /></div>Davidnoreply@blogger.com12